Album Review

Jam-trance-fusion band the Disco Biscuits have an opera about hot air balloons in their repertoire, plus their fans love discussing whether that version of “Morph Dusseldorf” they played last night was either “inverted” or “dyslexic.” Clever experimentation had always been their thing, at least up to this smart but not nearly as outlandish album, which puts songwriting first while embracing both indie rock and the more melodic side of ‘70s prog. Retaining their love of both the futuristic and the funky means Planet Anthem is a wild mix of space-disco man Meco, prog guru Alan Parsons, alternative heroes Radiohead, and indie punk-funksters LCD Soundsystem accented by a bit of that eccentricity found in Gabriel-era Genesis. The new attitude is reflected in the opening track’s “Loose change/The kind that feels so strange/You know I wanna take it over,” a statement of intent that frees the band to mess about in Black Eyed Peas territory with the feel-good and Auto-Tuned party number “On Time.” The rest of the album works just fine and spikes right around the one-two punch of the furious synth rocker “Sweatbox” and the alt-hip-hop inspired “The City.” Old-school residents of Camp Bisco might miss the muso-stance and all the knottiness, but the direct and determined Planet Anthem is bound to pile just as many onto the bandwagon as it shakes off.

Customer Reviews

Don't Judge This Band By This Album

by
Marc Gutwillig

This is a sad colelction of songs by the most talented and progressive live band playing right now. The quality material that they have that has never appeared on an album is staggering. Why the best post-album era band sets out to make a pop record circa 1996 is beyond me. The material sounds dated and put on. The vocals and lyrics are quite possibly the worst to have ever been put to tape. The guest vocals make no sense and make the record sound convulted and disconnected. There is no flow - no cohesion. It is a lame attempt to bridge the gap from the jam/electronic world into the club scene and it is a collossal over produced failure. The biscuits have never been afraid to take risks, and to fall flat on their faces - which is one of the things that makes them great - but having taken over half a decade to produce something of such low quality is perhaps their biggest failure so far.

Planet Anthem Delivers!

by
BIGWRECKINGBALLER

I am a Disco Biscuits fan, and I never really care so much about their studio stuff, but I have to say, they did a GREAT JOB with this new disc. I wasn't that into the "new sound" when it the EP's came out a few months ago, but the songs on the album have grown on me at the shows. The ones they play live have really blown up already. I can't wait to hear Big Wrecking Ball at a show. I really like the songs I hadn't heard yet, and the new arrangement of The City is very cool!

Good Job, Biscuits!

This album was worth the wait!

by
Pocket Threes

Let me start off by saying that I really think this album is great for old fans with open minds (like me) and new listeners alike... No easy feat! Planet Anthem is without a doubt the best studio album the Disco Biscuits have ever released, period. It's like a Bisco version of a high-end food court... Complete with a sampling of many different song styles and talented guest vocalists. I think the band has come to terms with the fact that a live show and a studio album are two totally different animals... It's so much wiser to go through the recording process with the intent of creating a wonderfully new and refreshing studio sound, rather than trying unsuccessfully to capture the band's live sound in a studio atmosphere... That's a mistake that other jam bands still seem to repeat time and time again. If you're hungry for live Biscuits, buy a live album, or better yet, go to a show (or listen to the second half of the first bonus track “Save your Soul”... It pretty much rips like a live show)! The Biscuits have a massive catalogue of amazing songs they could have easily chosen from for this new album... Good for them for putting years of sweat and determination into creating something brand spanking new, and for massively evolving their studio sound.

I think all the tracks really stand on their own, and am personally thrilled to see “Quad D” on the album... it has a really sexy/haunting guest vocal, and builds so thoughtfully to a powerful horn-filled crescendo... I think it could be the sleeper hit of the album, though it's likely to really appeal more to fans who already enjoy bands like Zero 7 and Air (like me). While many tracks on this album are pulse pounding from the first note, many others (like “Quad D” for example) develop with a methodical patience, often reaching a great peak somewhere in the second half... Give each track a complete listen before moving on to the next. Ok, enough typing, just click and buy the damn album already... I really think you’ll enjoy it!

Biography

Formed: 1995 in Pennsylvania

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '90s, '00s, '10s

A jam band active since 1995, the Disco Biscuits play a distinct blend of rock, techno, jazz, soul, blues, and classical music that quickly took them to the upper echelon of the jam-roots-groove scene. Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig, Marc Brownstein, Sam Altman, and Aron Magner met on the University of Pennsylvania campus and formed the Disco Biscuits there in late 1995. They started out with frat party gigs all over Philly, but quickly moved to the nightclub scene. In 1996 they released their indie...